Johnson v. Johnson County

147 P.3d 1091, 36 Kan. App. 2d 786, 2006 Kan. App. LEXIS 1108
CourtCourt of Appeals of Kansas
DecidedMarch 10, 2006
DocketNo. 93,466
StatusPublished
Cited by6 cases

This text of 147 P.3d 1091 (Johnson v. Johnson County) is published on Counsel Stack Legal Research, covering Court of Appeals of Kansas primary law. Counsel Stack provides free access to over 12 million legal documents including statutes, case law, regulations, and constitutions.

Bluebook
Johnson v. Johnson County, 147 P.3d 1091, 36 Kan. App. 2d 786, 2006 Kan. App. LEXIS 1108 (kanctapp 2006).

Opinion

Buser, J.:

Johnson County appeals from the final order of the Workers Compensation Board (Board) awarding compensation for an injuiy suffered by Nancy A. Johnson which the Board determined arose out of her employment. We reverse.

Factual and Procedural Background

Johnson works for Johnson County as a child care licensing specialist. She inspects child care facilities and spends 5 to 10 percent [787]*787of her time in the office doing paperwork. According to the Board’s findings — which adopted the administrative law judge’s findings-— Johnson was injured while at her office on August 5,2002. On that occasion, Johnson “injured her left knee when she simultaneously turned in her chair and attempted to stand while reaching for a file that was overhead. Claimant immediately experienced severe pain in her left knee, which would not straighten.” A medical examination revealed a bucket handle meniscal tear to the knee. The injury was surgically repaired, and Johnson was released without restrictions.

The administrative law judge found Johnson’s injury arose out of her employment under K.S.A. 44-501(a), which provides coverage to “personal injury by accident arising out of and in the course of employment.” In making this finding, the administrative law judge noted:

“It is true that the claimant could have bent her knee in a similar fashion away from work, and thereby injured her knee away from work, but that did not happen here. This was a knee bend in furtherance of the employment — it was something the claimant did to accomplish her job — and it produced a locked up knee.”

The Board affirmed, rejecting Johnson County’s argument that compensation was excluded under K.S.A. 2002 Supp. 44-508(e), which provides “[a]n injury shall not be deemed to have been directly caused by the employment where it is shown that the employee suffers disability ... by the normal activities of day-to-day living.” Johnson was awarded compensation from Johnson County for the accident and resulting disability.

Standard of Review and Question Presented

An appellate court’s review of a decision from the Board is governed by the Act for Judicial Review and Civil Enforcement of Agency Actions (KJRA), K.S.A. 77-601 et seq. Under K.S.A. 77-621, appellate review is explicitly limited to questions of law. When an appellate court reviews a decision from the Board, it should not disturb the decision unless the court concludes: (1) The Board has erroneously interpreted or applied the law; (2) the Board’s actions were based on facts not supported by substantial evidence; (3) the Board’s actions were otherwise unreasonable, arbitrary, or capri[788]*788cious. See Kindel v. Ferco Rental, Inc., 258 Kan. 272, 277, 899 P.2d 1058 (1995).

The parties agree that our standard of review is substantial competent evidence. Substantial evidence in a workers compensation case is evidence that possesses something of substance and relevant consequence and carries with it fitness to induce the conclusion that the award is proper, or furnished a substantial basis of fact from which the issue raised can be reasonably resolved. An appellate court reviews the evidence in the light most favorable to the prevailing party and does not reweigh the evidence or assess the credibility of the witnesses. Neal v. Hy-Vee, Inc., 277 Kan. 1, 16-17, 81 P.3d 425 (2003).

The parties present the following question: Was there substantial competent evidence to support the Board’s conclusion that Johnson’s act of standing up from a seated position arose out of her employment under K.S.A. 44-501(a) and that this act was not part of her “normal activities of day-to-day living” under K.S.A. 2002 Supp. 44-508(e)?

Analysis

Based on our review of the record, the Board’s conclusion was not supported by substantial competent evidence.

In addition to the facts recounted above, the record also reflects that prior to August 5, 2002, Johnson had a history of three or four incidents of left knee pain. Her treating physician, Dr. Jennifer Finley, testified that “[i]t looks like she had had years of degeneration and had some previous problems, and it was just a matter of time.” According to Johnson’s retained expert, Dr. P. Brent Koprivica, a meniscal tear injury “usually goes along with some relative degeneration of the tissues and that means the tissues are weaker.” With regard to the mechanism of Johnson’s injury, Dr. Finley testified, “It wasn’t anything particular about the swiveling in her chair that would be anymore likely to do it than getting out of a car or getting out of bed or just standing up or anything else.” Dr. Koprivica observed that “there are activities in daily life where you pivot.”

[789]*789It is true that Johnson was at work when the meniscal tear occurred, and it is true that under K.S.A. 2002 Supp. 44-508(e), the definitions of “personal injury” and “injury” are linked to work and include “any lesion or change in the physical structure of the body, causing damage or harm thereto, so that it gives way under the stress of the worker s usual labor.” It is also true, however, that under the same statute some injuries are not “deemed to have been directly caused by the employment . . . .” K.S.A. 2002 Supp. 44-508(e). These latter injuries are those which result from, inter alia, “the normal activities of day-to-day living.” K.S.A. 2002 Supp. 44-508(e).

Considering the facts of this case, we do not find substantial evidence to support the Board’s finding that Johnson’s act of standing up was not a normal activity of daily Mving. For example, in Martin v. U.S.D. No. 233, 5 Kan. App. 2d 298, 300, 615 P.2d 168 (1980), a back injury suffered when a claimant exited his vehicle upon arrival at work was not compensable because “almost any everyday activity would have a tendency to aggravate [the] condition.” In Boeckmann v. Goodyear Tire & Rubber Co., 210 Kan. 733, 734, 504 P.2d 625 (1972), a worker sought compensation following a back injury which arose when he stooped down to pick up a tire.

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Cite This Page — Counsel Stack

Bluebook (online)
147 P.3d 1091, 36 Kan. App. 2d 786, 2006 Kan. App. LEXIS 1108, Counsel Stack Legal Research, https://law.counselstack.com/opinion/johnson-v-johnson-county-kanctapp-2006.